In his first trip outside Greece as president of ELAS, Alexis Tsipras traveled to Cyprus for the 3rd International Conference of INAT, organized in Nicosia in collaboration with the Prometheus Institute.
Institute officials note that the 3rd International Conference of Alexis Tsipras’s Institute comes at a particularly significant moment, as ELAS has emerged as a substantive opposition force in Greece, while the former prime minister is eager to present the most fully developed program possible. This program, however, will be grounded in Tsipras’s conviction that three ideological currents of the “plural left” must converge: social democracy, the radical left, and political ecology.
Those same officials point out that the common ground can only be the economy. That is, after all, where the major issues affecting citizens’ everyday lives are decided — issues that ELAS aspires to bring to the forefront. The ideological foundations for this approach are expected to be laid by world-renowned economist Thomas Piketty.
Piketty will present the findings of the annual Global Justice Report to a broad audience for the first time, with a focus on income inequality, sustainability, and responses to the climate crisis. He will do so in a discussion with Giorgos Chouliarakis and Evgenia Fotioniata.
Tsipras and Piketty on the new economic patriotism
Piketty’s participation in the conference carries special weight, as he is one of the three architects of the concept of economic patriotism — a core platform of ELAS.
The Tsipras–Piketty dialogue dates back to 2019, when the two first discussed the fundamental aspects of this ideological approach. They revisited the conversation in December 2023 at a second meeting. Piketty further developed the framework alongside Michael Sandel in January 2025. It is worth recalling that Alexis Tsipras met with Michael Sandel at Harvard in April 2025, while the philosopher also participated in last year’s international conference in Athens, where he elaborated on his positions. The former prime minister also discussed economic patriotism with Congressman Ro Khanna during their meeting in April 2025. Khanna, who represents California’s Silicon Valley — the wealthiest congressional district in the United States — has emerged as one of the most prominent advocates of this movement in America. He views economic patriotism as a new Marshall Plan against what he calls an “Epstein class” built on oligarchs.
Defending democracy with Maya Allende
At a time of rising far-right movements, Alexis Tsipras is sending a clear message about the defense of democracy through this year’s conference. That message is embodied in the participation of former Chilean Vice President and former Defense Minister Maya Fernández Allende, granddaughter of historic former Chilean President Salvador Allende. To this end, Tsipras has brought together progressive forces from around the world: from US Senator Chris Van Hollen and former Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Cruz, to María Jimena López, a legislator in the left-wing opposition to Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei. And from Audun Lysbakken, secretary of Norway’s co-governing Socialist Left Party, to SPD Member of Parliament Jan Dieren.
Human rights and the genocide in Gaza
Particular significance will also be attached to this year’s recipients of INAT’s Peace Prize: representatives of the medical community working in Gaza alongside the Palestinian people, including surgeon Christos Georgilas, author of Gaza Diary, in which he documents the genocide of the Palestinian people as he witnessed it firsthand. Also to be honored is prominent Israeli left-wing journalist and activist Orly Noy, who daily speaks out against Netanyahu’s policies and leads the NGO B’Tselem — an organization that exposes Netanyahu’s criminal policies in the West Bank and Gaza while actively fighting every day for peace and an end to the genocide.
The Cyprus issue always at the center
The Cyprus issue could not be absent from the INAT conference. Indeed, according to those close to the ELAS president, the choice of Cyprus was no coincidence — it carries a triple symbolism. First, to send a message in favor of resolving the Cyprus issue on the basis of the Guterres framework, in the wake of the UN Secretary-General’s new initiative. Second, to highlight the importance of peace in the Middle East and support for Cyprus, especially following the attacks it has endured. And third, within the context set by the first two points, Alexis Tsipras — as leader of ELAS — could not have made his first official trip anywhere other than Cyprus.
The conference panel on the Cyprus issue will include, among others, Mayor of Nicosia Charalambos Prountzos, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community in Nicosia Mehmet Harmancı, Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis, and CTP president Sıla Usar İncirli. Once again, at a time of active movement on the Cyprus issue, Alexis Tsipras manages to deliver a serious message for peace — with both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots standing by his side.
